Macbeth is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy
(approximately 2,500 lines). The play was originally printed in the First Folio (F1)
in 1623, and scholars believe that it was probably reproduced from a theatrical
prompt-book. In addition to being one of Shakespeare's shortest plays, Macbeth is
also one of the most famous among high school students. Maybe its length is what attracts
high school students, but I doubt it. Many students are initially drawn into the
story of Macbeth and his wife because of the mystery, murders, and battles. With
this in mind, I decided to tackle the final battle scene between Macbeth and Macduff for
my library project. I was surprised to find that there has been very little written about
this key moment in the play. My frustration level was on the rise until I took a look at
the plethora of art work that was available for this scene. Macduff cries out to Macbeth,
"I have no words; / My voice is in my sword . . ." (Mowat 185), and even in the
world of scholarship, this crucial moment transcends words. How often do our students, out
of frustration of not being heard, feel voiceless, and resort to violence to get their
message across? Is it possible, then, to use Shakespeare's words to help our students find
their own voices? By studying this passage through scholarship and performance, I believe
that my students will begin to rediscover the power of words and their own voices.

The level of scholarship that we can expect from our
students will differ from individual to individual, but a good place to begin is with a
comparison of Shakespeare's text to that of a modern edition of Act V, scene viii, lines
1-20. I will be using the New Folger Library Shakespeare and the First Folio editions of Macbeth.
For sake of simplicity, I will use the line number references in the Folger edition. It is
interesting to note that the play ends with scene seven in the F1, but most
modern editors break for a new scene after Malcolm and Siward enter the castle. This
raises the first debate for students -- why the added scene break? I feel that the break
makes sense in that Malcolm and Siward were in front of the castle, and Macbeth is
fighting elsewhere within the castle or on the battle field. Of course, in The Masks of
Macbeth, Rosenberg argues that "[t]he war is almost over: Shakespeare does not
let the continuous momentum of the action slacken for a moment. Macbeth's fate, the first
priority, demands immediate consummation. So in the Folio, Macbeth returns at once to the
stage, he [is] still fighting, alone, his castle lost, his men mainly surrendered or gone
over to the enemy" (633). I would break the students into groups, and ask each group
to make a decision about the scene break. They must give three reasons for either adding
the break or keeping it as it is in the F1.

Folger -- 5.8.1-20

Enter Macbeth.

MACBETH
Why should I play the Roman fool and die
On mine own sword? Whiles I see lives, the gashes
Do better upon them.

Enter Macduff.

MACDUFF
Turn, hellhound, turn!

MACBETH
Of all men else I have avoided thee.

5

But get thee back. My soul is too
much charged
With blood of thine already.

MACDUFF
I have no words;
My voice is in my sword, thou bloodier villain
Than terms can give thee out. Fight. Alarum.

10

MACBETH
Thou losest labor.
As easy mayst thou the intrenchant air
With thy keen sword impress as make me bleed.
Let fall thy blade on vulnerable crests;
I bear a charmed life, which must not yield

15

To one of woman born.

MACDUFF
Despair thy charm,
And let the angel whom thou still hast served
Tell thee Macduff was from his mother's womb
Untimely ripped.

20

First Folio -- 5.7.40-61

Enter Macbeth.

Macb. Why should I play the
Roman Foole, and dyeOn mine owne sword? whileS I see liveS,
the gasheSDo better upon them.

Enter Macdvffe.

Macd. Tvrne Hell-hovnd,
tvrne.

Macb. Of all men else I have
avoyded thee:But get thee backe, my sovle iS too much charg'dWith blood of thine already.

Macd. I have
no wordS,
My uoice iS in my Sword, thov bloodier Villaine
Then tearmeS can give thee ovt. Fight: Alarvm

The first thing students will notice about these
passages is the odd typeface in the F1 version. I would explain the font
differences to the students. For example, the F1 uses two characters to
represent the letter s (s and S). I
would then ask the students to note any spelling and capitalization differences between
the two texts.

Line #

First Folio

Folger

1

Foole, dye*

fool, die*

2

owne, whiles

own, Whiles

4

Turne, Hell-hound,
turne

turn, hellhound,
turn

5

avoyded

avoided

6

backe, soule,
charg'd

back, soul, charged

9

Sword, Villaine

sword, villain

10

Then, tearmes

than, terms

11

loosest*, labour

losest*, labor

12

easie, may'st, Ayre

easy, mayst, air

13

keene, Sword,
impresse

keen, sword,
impress

14

Crests

crests

15

beare, charmed,
Life, yeeld

bear, charmed,
life, yield

16

borne

born

17

Dispaire, Charme

Despair, charm

18

Angell, serv'd

angel, served

19

Macduffe, Mothers

Macduff, mother's

20

ript

ripped

The students may or may not notice the words with
substantive changes. I have marked those words with an asterisks (*). The following
definitions, taken from the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, exemplify how a
small change in spelling can effect meaning:

I think it is safe to say that, in line 1, Macbeth
was chastising himself for having thoughts of suicide, not the color of his sword!

The students will probably notice the accidental
changes in the text, such as capitalization and punctuation. Although the changes in
capitalization don't change the meaning of the words, some people in the acting community
believe that Shakespeare capitalized words in the middle of a sentence because those words
carried strong meaning and should be emphasized by the actor. I would have my students
break into two groups, stand across the room from each other, and read the scene. Each
time they come across a capitalized word in the middle of a sentence, they should
emphasize that word. In this scene, they would emphasize Roman Foole, Hell-hound, Sword,
Villaine, Ayre, Sword, Crests, Life, Charme, Angell, Macduffe, Mothers, and Untimely. They
may also want to discuss who had the most capitalized words and what that means about the
character's emotional state.

In addition to the Folger edition, I looked at five
other modern editions of the text. All five modern versions were very similar to the
Folger edition, so I will discuss them on the merits of their glosses and notes. I think
it is important to determine what students need to know to understand the selection when
choosing a text for classroom use. If the page is covered with notes on the text, the
students will not try to discover meaning for themselves. It is for this reason that I
would never use the Arden or Oxford editions as classroom copies. I would have them
available as references only. All five editions had very similar notes; the difference was
the length of discussion. For example, the Folger edition says that Roman is
"associated here with approval of suicide" (184), whereas the Oxford edition
goes into a lengthy discussion of Cato, Brutus, and Antony (207).

The most interesting notes in all five editions
dealt with the fact that "Macduff was from his mother's womb / Untimely ripped"
(Mowat 185). Although most of the notes agree that Macduff was "prematurely delivered
(by Caesarean section)" (Gibson 152), the Variorum suggested that there may
have been other ways in which a child could have been born prematurely. I thought this was
interesting, so I tried to find more information. I came across an article in the Shakespeare
Bulletin by a group from the Boston University School of Medicine. In "A New Pun
on the Birth of Macduff," they argue that there were "twelve instances between
1647 and 1876 in which vicious bulls or cows ripped the abdomens of pregnant women
precipitating 'untimely' births" (Reich 15). They go on to argue that both Macbeth
and Macduff use language that assaults the reproductive organs, and that Shakespeare
created a pun on the word "cow'd" by relating it to this attack.

Oddly enough, the previous article was the only
article I found that directly relates to this passage. There were several other articles
listed in the computer search, but I couldn't find them at either the Folger or Georgetown
libraries. Of course, I did find a great deal of art work, and I came to the conclusion
that, at this moment in the play, everything has been said. Macduff cries, "I have no
words . . ." (Mowat 185), and what is left is the ensuing battle which ends with
Macbeth's head on a pike. I was amazed at many of the similarities in the works of art. In
four of the five drawings that depicted both Macbeth and Macduff, Macbeth was pictured on
the left side of the page. Most of the paintings had dead bodies at Macbeth's feet, both
men in kilts, and swords raised for battle. The most interesting piece was created by
Henry Corbould in 1826. In his engraving, Corbould depicts the two men on the battle field
in front of the castle. In the distance, men are fighting, and dead bodies can be seen
everywhere. Macbeth's sword is lowered, and Macduff has his sword raised in an attack
stance. Macbeth has a look of fear on his face, and above him, the three witches hover.
They are pointing in many directions with sinister looks on their faces. One is holding
her fingers over her lips as if she is hushing Macbeth. I believe that this is the moment
that Macduff tells Macbeth of his strange birth. What is so fascinating about this
engraving is the use of the witches. Corbould depicts the supernatural influence of the
witches all the way to Macbeth's final moments.

I often introduce this play using an activity from
this final moment in the play. I have the kids pair off, and then I give them the
following script:

I have the students memorize either A or B, and then
we work on staging a mock sword fight. They must make five moves or hits, and in the end,
one person must die. We practice different ways of dying before we begin (i.e. die from
laughter, die of embarrassment, die of boredom, etc.). After the scene has been
choreographed, I give them time to practice their scene, and then volunteers may show
their scene to the class. Afterwards, we discuss the scenes and the meaning of the line
"My voice is in my sword." My alternative school students enjoy this activity
because it allows them to move and yell, but they are also very perceptive when it comes
to our discussion of violence and what drives people to violent acts. Through performance
exercises and Shakespeare's text, they are able to make connections to their own lives,
and see the power of their own voices in a world which seems very chaotic to them.